


Multitudes of Blue

by Miss_Rust



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Autistic Zuko (Avatar), Communication, Fluff, Kissing, Little bit of Zuko angst but just because it's him, M/M, Moving In Together, Sokka (Avatar) Has ADHD, Stimming, Stream of Consciousness, Trans Sokka (Avatar), Trans Zuko (Avatar), Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, but set in universe, is happening?, modern Ba Sing Se, plot what plot only fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-18 16:35:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28746300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_Rust/pseuds/Miss_Rust
Summary: Nothing happens and everything happens all at once, and Zuko finds himself in a place his younger self would have never dared to dream of in the first place. Moving together with his boyfriend? Not necessarily a hardship, but there are many steps to coordinate.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 113
Collections: Zukka 18+ Chaos Server: Jan 2021 Exchange





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Gardenoferos](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gardenoferos/gifts).



> And this is my exchange fic! Unfortunately, the author also has ADHD so it was left right up to the end and it's 6 am right now. I have no impulse control. 
> 
> Thank you to my enabling beta readers some of who know nothing about ATLA but I yeeted this at them anyways. There may also still be more mistakes because I like to fiddle and it's also 6 am and they, in fact, do have working sleep schedules.
> 
> So now, enjoy! It's the first time I've written trans characters, so if you notice anything please tell me in the comments! I tried my best!

Sokka's closet contains multitudes of blue, Zuko realises. 

He's sat on the bed, swaddled in grey sweatpants and his boyfriend's favourite hoodie because Sokka smells really soothing, buried underneath maybe three or four blankets to mimic the effect of a weighted one. Sokka  _ does  _ have a weighted one for his own use, not for Zuko, but apparently, Sokka had left it downstairs where he needed it to watch TV in the morning. 

And now, neither of them is remotely interested in moving down there to get it. Conveniently, they both have similar things that calm them, what with Sokka having ADHD and Zuko being autistic. And thus, there is a mountain of blankets with nice textures  _ everywhere _ in Sokka’s flat.

It makes for a more effortless living together, or whatever. Not that they live together. But Zuko’s over at the flat enough for it to be a living together.

His train of thought is interrupted -or even better- caught, by his boyfriend smoothly taking off his shirt, revealing a blue binder underneath. And one-handedly too. At some point, they had figured out it was incredibly gender-euphoric if they did the single-handed-grip-and-pull-over-the-head undress rather than the two-handed crossed-hands-shimmy-shimmy-pull-over-the-head undress method most girls did. They had practised together when they were seventeen and still just best friends, and not in love like they are now, five years later and now both on T. 

Well, they were in love. 

Just not together. 

Zuko has been on T for three years now, starting only at 19 years old because of fucked up custody issues only resolved when he actually turned adult. He had run away to Iroh’s at 16, but Ozai had only allowed it, telling the authorities it was closer to school if he lived with his uncle, and they believed him, and didn’t even consider any of Iroh’s attempts to get custody.

They had tried and tried, but Ozai had custody rights and the courts bribed. Only when Zuko was 18 and emancipated, he was able to get to all of his documents. Which was a fight in itself because of course, his father didn’t want him to have them. 

Why that was, they only found out when the court ordered him to hand them over. There were hidden documents that Zuko had never once seen, detailing how it was most likely that his father was the cause for his burn, and that child protective services had been called. Somehow Ozai had managed to keep them off, and Zuko was put back into his father’s custody with a gigantic burn scar on his face at 13 years old. 

Somehow, all of the sudden, they had everything they needed, the proof Iroh needed to be able to sue his brother for the custody of Zuko.

After nine months of long long court days with their lawyer, Jeong Jeong, Uncle Iroh had been handed the custody papers, all of Zuko’s important documents and one single suitcase with all of the things left at the mansion. 

And with that, Zuko finally felt free. It was the biggest relief he had ever felt.

It wasn’t long after that that Zuko got an appointment, finally. It was the same practice Sokka went to because Zuko already knew they were doing a good job.

Sokka has been on T for six years now because he  _ didn’t  _ have fucked up custody issues. Apparently, all Hakoda did when Sokka came out to him, was to hand him the pocket knife he himself had received from his own father and promptly went online to research binders. 

Not the one he’s wearing now, no. Right now, he’s wearing some new type Sokka found browsing on the internet at like, 3 am, and then impulse bought. And out of all the colours he could have chosen, black, white, different shades of nude, all the colours of the rainbow-

Of course, Sokka's binder is blue. 

Zuko stares at the broad expanse of warm brown skin exposed to the cold of the room.

"Binder break." 

The words are out before Zuko even realises that he's spoken, and surprises himself with how they even come out. He's been nonverbal for most of the day. It's not a  _ good _ day, but it's also not bad, considering he didn't  _ really _ have a meltdown. He can almost see his uncle pull a face at him at the statement in the back of his head. 

Yeah, yeah, it was a bad day. 

But now he's with Sokka.

Who makes everything a lot better, like always. Even if he excelled in the number of hours he was allowed to bind. 

He watches as his boyfriend pulls a face at his request and turns around to face the closet to take it off.

He knows the feeling. 

Usually, neither of them feel self-conscious about their chests, but- 

But. 

Sometimes there are days where they do. 

Instead of watching his boyfriend change, he flops down from his sitting position and tries to gather his long legs closer, but spectacularly fails, tangling himself up in the blanket. 

He's too tall for Sokka's bed.

They probably both are because his boyfriend has been catching up in height and width a  _ lot _ . They barely fit into the bed together anymore. 

But where Sokka is becoming broader, Zuko is still tall and lanky and awkward. 

"Need help?" 

Sokka is in a soft blue shirt now, the one that's Zuko's favourite because they tie-dyed it together, at Sokka's 17th birthday party, the first one they had spent together. 

Zuko only huffs, and Sokka thankfully,  _ thankfully  _ knows him well enough to know what that means. 

They take a while to get comfortable again, both of them a bit restless, but they manage fine in the end.

It ends up with Zuko's face smushed into his boyfriend's chest, and his legs tangled somewhere under him and under Sokka's leg which he has thrown over his hip. The younger boy’s chin is on his head, and Zuko knows that he’s playing around on his phone silently.

It doesn't bother him; this just means that Sokka is focused elsewhere and Zuko can relax into him and just be, for a while.

Sokka smells like fresh laundry. Probably because his shirt is freshly laundered. It's the best texture too. Cotton jersey, soft and warm. Perfect. And it's quiet and dark where he's buried his face into Sokka. 

He doesn't know how much time passes until Sokka starts fidgeting with his leg and disrupts him.

"Sorry, duckie," how Sokka immediately picks up upon it, is beyond him.

Zuko just hums. 

"Doesn't bother me right now," he replies, very flatly, because it doesn’t, and also because he can't be bothered to mask right now. However, he does start drawing circles idly somewhere on Sokka's back, just so the RSD doesn't hit him. He knows it does, sometimes, when he doesn’t bother to use intonation.

Sokka continues. Zuko mushes his face back into the softness that is his boyfriend's shirt. 

He notices himself unwind, slowly, but steadily, the more the noise in his head calms and the weird iffy feeling in his arms vanishes. 

It's been a long day. His day had started out  _ fine _ , he woke up without nightmares, and breakfast was really good too because Uncle made Jook. It's a safe-food, but only when Uncle makes it. Earth kingdom food still tastes weird to him, but Uncle Iroh makes it with Fire Nation spices so it’s good. He's been living with Uncle since he was 16, even now that he's finished high school and pursues a degree at Ba Sing Se University, where today's struggles started. 

First, the bus was late. This in itself was already catastrophic, because Zuko may have  _ planned _ in the time to be late, but he always uses that time to prepare and set up his desk so he can take notes adequately. And when he finally did get in, five minutes too early but thirty minutes too late, the day was already done for. He didn’t get his normal seat, and instead, he had to sit way back in the lecture room where he couldn’t hear and couldn’t see too well.

It hadn't helped that one girl brought her toddler son to class due to reasons absolutely unknown to him, and of course, the boy had started crying, and gone was his concentration. And then it went downhill. He didn't usually tick, mostly he was stimming, but the overload of emotions nearly sent him into meltdown, and he tried so hard to keep them down. It was mostly just humming, small melodies of songs his mother used to sing or songs Sokka sings. But then the girl in front of him turned around and  _ shushed _ him, and there he went. 

He was nonverbal for the rest of the day, and the moment Sokka had shown up, ten minutes late to their date, he'd just burrowed into his boyfriend’s hug and not let go until Sokka somehow managed to get him home. 

Sokka's home that is. He still shares a flat with his sister Katara and her boyfriend Aang. 

He wonders why. They're both adults, now, 22 years of age. Well, as good adults as they can be. 

Suddenly he realises that Sokka can't possibly be on his phone anymore because his hands have wandered to hold him instead. And the leg fidgeting is only something Sokka does when he's nervous or anxious.

That means Zuko has been dissociating for a while and didn't even notice how and when his boyfriend stopped being comfortable.

The realisation makes his head whip back, and instantaneously, his erratic movement makes Sokka jump and tighten his hold on him, which instead makes Zuko squeak because he doesn't like sudden movements  _ either _ -

And then they're both apologising, frantically.

"Sorry Duckie, I'm sorry I didn't mean to."

"No, no  _ I, I'm sorry,  _ Sokka."

Sokka looks like he's about to either cry or say something, but then he goes blank, and Zuko knows he's masking, which they had both decided to do their best to stop and use their words instead, and usually, that works out. So something is  _ wrong _ .

"No, stop, I like you, I love you, no,  _ no _ , why?" 

And then Sokka is giggling, because apparently him being ridiculously awful at trying to talk his boyfriend down from something, does that. It's not a bad sound. 

"I'm sorry, baby," his boyfriend tucks him closer again. "I don't- I just had a stupid thought that made me freeze,- and, and, it's stupid."

"Oh?" 

"No-no, no. I'm not gonna say it. It's stupid." 

Zuko stays still, tucking his face under the brunette's chin so that the eye contact is interrupted. Because neither of them does well with that. Although mostly because right now, the light is still too bright even if it’s already just Sokka's desk lamp.

But he knows that if he just lets Sokka gather his thoughts, he will come out with it. There's no stopping that. 

Sokka really has a really lovely throat. 

He nuzzles at it, musing how much his boyfriend has grown into himself. It's not like he's got an adam's apple now, it's just that everything shifted sort of vaguely downwards? More full. Broad? 

It's a pretty nice throat. 

"I'd like to move together." 

"Huh?" Zuko just about manages to keep his head down and just listen rather than look up and stare, because he knows Sokka isn't done yet, and if he does that then maybe he'll stop.

"It's just that, we're both at uni. I- we've been dating for so long now, and also I hate listening to my sister and Aang constantly being lovey-dovey together, and also they don't get me like you do, and, and, _ I love you-, _ and it would be so  _ rad _ to live together with my best friend, and only us, and we could make the entire flat so good for us and not have to care for other people, just us. And also you're here a lot anyways." Sokka ends on a petulant note, and the tone makes Zuko grin. 

"That's all?" 

"I, yes. I'm sorry, it's probably  _ waaaaay  _ too quick and, and. Maybe you don't even want to move out of your uncle’s flat and- you don't have to? But I'd like to. But it's okay! If you don't want to? I just thought I could maybe ask you, but it's totally fine, I'll be fine, I haven't even told Katara I'm considering moving out yet, so you can say no and it would be  _ fine- _ " 

"Okay." 

"-so like, if I interrupt your structures and schedule and. What?"

“Okay!” Zuko smiles into Sokka’s throat. 

"No, I,  _ no-  _ what do you mean, 'okay'?" 

"We can move in together." 

"You'd, you'd be okay with that?" 

"Yeah." 

"Seriously?" 

"If I can bring Druk?" 

"Of course you can. But like, are you serious? If you need more time to-" 

"I'm sure." 

And he is. To be quite honest, he'd be glad if all he ever got to have was Sokka. And Druk, of course. Uncle got him the black cat as a little therapy animal a few years after getting away from his father. He could never leave him behind. 

"Oh boy, oh boy!!!! Really?" 

Sokka is now practically vibrating beneath him, and it's very incredibly intoxicating.

"Really." 

Somehow, his boyfriend manages to disentangle himself from between Zuko's long legs and the three different heaps of blankets around them and starts dancing around in the room. It's so ridiculous. 

"Come on, baby! It's the "we're-gonna-move-together" dance!" Sokka does the moonwalk. 

"You're ridiculous." 

"Baaaaaaaaabyyyyyy, come on! You know I don't judge you!" 

It's too infecting for him  _ not  _ to move.

Tentatively, Zuko gets out of the bed, standing awkwardly in front of it watching Sokka twist to some unheard music.

He does simply not get how Sokka can be so, so-

The taller boy pulls him into a hug, swaying him gently.

"Come on!" 

Zuko lets his face run its course and mirrors Sokka's smile, and then immediately asks himself if he's in fact masking or if he's happy because his brain just runs that way.

He is, in fact, happy. So he lets his smile get brighter and sways awkwardly in front of the curly-haired boy in front of him.

Sokka is beautiful. 

Even if he keeps chanting and chanting "move-in-together, move-in-together,  _ move-in-together!"  _ in that ridiculous forceful whispery sleep-over voice.

The laughter comes out of practically nowhere, agitated small bubbles simmering in his tummy, and at the same time, there are the sparkles and tingles moving up his spine and into his arms'. Before he knows it, he's moving them to get rid of them, to make it less intense, but they don't leave, which is good, because it feels good. 

He hits his hands together, clapping, but that doesn't really help either, it just helps it build. 

The giggles finally bubble out, and he really can't help it anymore. 

And Sokka laughs, his favourite sound in the world.

Which only makes him jump up and down even more, and his flappy hands catch on Sokka's shirt, but that's fine. He  _ likes _ him there. 

The hand flapping had always been there, even when he was a toddler just happy to get ice cream, or when he was ten and was allowed to see the local theatre troupe with his mum. 

But then she vanished when he was eleven, and then there was only his father, and the hand flaps vanished. 

Five years. 

And then he got out. Of course, with a nasty scar and traumatised, but he was 16, and his uncle was  _ safe _ and accommodating and not overbearing like his father's maids and servants. 

And he was 16 and changed schools, going to the local one in Ba Sing Se where they had relocated, and there was Sokka, and he laughed, and even back then Zuko had known he loved that sound. 

Even if he was 16, and masking for years without knowing it, and the hand flaps had vanished with his mother.

He rarely felt comfortable enough to do it now, to let himself just be himself, but Sokka did put him at ease enough.

That didn't really mean that it would stop all of the embarrassment rising deep in his chest all up to his head, leaving him feeling hot and red despite himself, helpless to his own emotions.

"Aww noo baby, it's okay, don't be embarrassed!" 

Sokka picks up on everything, just everything. 

Zuko buries his head into Sokka's shoulder and groans. Because yes, he does love his boyfriend, but to know Sokka and be his boyfriend is to be  _ seen _ , and sometimes he doesn’t really know what to do with all that. He lightly swats at Sokka, who is still swaying him gently and making sad noises at him. Which is way too cute. So he lightly swats again. 

That does  _ not  _ stop his boyfriend from picking him up and securing him to his chest, because that’s his go-to method since they were teens, even though Zuko is entirely too tall for that now. Of course, they immediately collapse on the floor, but it's fine, it's okay because Sokka is laughing again. 

And that's all that really matters to him.

They spend a minute just lying there on the floor, giggling together, until they quiet down again and it's just Zuko lying on top of his boyfriend, only this time on the floor rather than on their bed. 

"Zuko?" Sokka's voice breaks a bit, and he can't really identify whether it's because Sokka is emotional or if it's just his voice breaking due to the usual voice breaking reasons.

"Yeah?" 

"You know that. That I love you, right?" 

It’s probably not the usual voice breaking reasons.

"Yeah." Zuko smiles, and turns to look up, "I know." 

"I just, I just really really wanna make sure you know because like, I want you to be comfortable around me? And I know you are-”

"I am."

"You  _ are _ , and I also know that it's not because of me, but like, I want you to be able to freely stim without it being. You know. Embarrassing to you? I wanna be that comfort. For you." 

And immediately, the heat rises to his cheeks again. 

"I know." He mumbles and hides his face again. 

"Oh no, ack I'm doing this all wrong." Sokka takes a minute, probably to gather his thoughts, as he does sometimes when the words are too much in his head, and then sighs. "I just want to like, ask you if you want me to do anything more specific to make you feel good." 

Zuko snorts and raises his head to waggle his eyebrows, because why not. If he's already embarrassed, making Sokka blush is better than blushing alone. 

But Sokka is way more suave than him. And of course, does not blush. He lets out a small, happy snort and lifts a teasing eyebrow right back at him.

"I also take suggestions for that, duckie." 

"Gah," Zuko says and buries his head again. "You're smooth." 

"Only because you give me the opportunity, baby." 

Zuko thinks for a bit. It's not like Sokka  _ doesn't  _ already know what to do and what not. They've known each other for over six years now and been together for a while, too. They know their ins and outs. But Sokka also needs reassurance sometimes, that what he does is the correct response. It's good that he does because then Zuko inevitably also has to think about his feelings. Which his therapist would like, of course, but Zuko still isn't too good at it. 

"I think that you're good. Just be yourself?" 

"That doesn't help me, duckie," Sokka replies, and Zuko groans as if in pain. They're really gonna do this? His boyfriend just looks down at him expectantly, and Zuko groans again.

"Urgh, okay. Like. Okay. You're not allowed to, to, coo at me in public. It's fine here, you know this, I told you." 

"That's things that I already know, duckie, I'm asking what to do to make you more comfortable. That's like, bare minimum-" 

"Yeah, I know." Zuko puts a placating hand on Sokka's chest.

Sokka takes it and kisses his knuckles. That action in itself is already too much for him, again. 

And there he goes, blushing like a tomato.

"I suppose that it would be beneficial if you laugh more?" 

"Really? Why?" Sokka smiles.

"Because it makes all of the fuzzy feelings increase. You know, like, this is happy stimming. Like earlier. The good kind." 

"Yeah?" 

"Because. It makes me happy?" 

"Okay. Laugh more. Noted." 

"Uh-huh.” 

They fall back into a comfortable silence, and Zuko basks in Sokka's presence. His boyfriend is still holding his hand to his lips, occasionally dropping a kiss there while staring at the ceiling. Zuko stares at Sokka instead. 

This means that he notices the second Sokka gets a thought because Sokka's face is an open book when it comes to absolute glee.

"No," Zuko says, preventatively. 

Sokka, of course, ignores him entirely and looks down at him wearing his most elated expression. 

"So, baby, anything more specific to make you _ feel good _ ?"

All of the sudden, he's on his back, and Sokka is perched above him with a devious grin, straddling him in a way that is somehow both sexy and ridiculous at the same time.

"I'll take suggestions now."


	2. Chapter 2

"Yo, Zukes, where did we put the cutlery?" 

Zuko doesn't know. 

Currently, everything is in boxes around them, stacked and piled around them in heaps and stacks. It's eleven in the morning, and all of their friends just left. There were two teams, Aang and Katara helping to move all of Sokka's stuff into their new flat because it's considerably more stuff than Zuko has, and Sokka needs all the capable carrying power. The second team is Toph and Uncle with Zuko, because he feels most comfortable around them and the day is already disrupting enough.

Additionally, their delivery of things from the local furniture chain had arrived an hour ago, so now everything is full of stuff.

And of course, both of them had decided that they were way too particular in setting things up for the others to stay, so now they had to unpack everything themselves. 

"Duckie?" 

"Huh?" Zuko snaps back to attention.

"You know where we put the cutlery?" Sokka is leaning on the door, his curls lose in his wolf tail, and showing off his muscles.

"I think they're somewhere in one of those boxes over there." Zuko gestures to one of the heaps closest to the window, all labelled "kitchen".

"Thanks." Sokka starts his way through the room, climbing over boxes and leaving a tiny kiss on his lips before he moves on to rumble through the boxes.

"What do you even need cutlery for? I thought we were doing the kitchen after we built the bed." 

They haven't built the bed yet. It was the first thing they decided to do just so that if executive dysfunction hit, they'd be able to collapse somewhere. And directly after that the kitchen, because food is essential.

Thanks to Sokka's meticulous organising and scheduling before they even moved, they are already quite settled on the kitchen, so it just has to be sorted in. Less cutlery, as well as fewer plates and bowls and general stuff would lead to less decision fatigue and easier cleaning up, a working system that his boyfriend was adamant about adapting.

And who was Zuko to stand in his way? He preferred having his own favourite mug and plate anyway, so it worked out fine, in theory.  
But the bed was more important because if he had a meltdown, he had to have somewhere to lie down. And not in the kitchen.

He watches as Sokka starts filing through the boxes, definitely distracted.

"Sokka? The bed. You promised me the bed?" 

"Yes, I know Duckie, I was going to start opening it, but I can't get into the packaging, it's too thick. So I thought I'd get a knife so I can cut it open instead-"

Oh. Of course he remembered. Zuko flicks his fingers to get rid of the awful feeling of trepidation in his arms at the possibility of Sokka forgetting and watches his boyfriend huff through the boxes before he suddenly realises that he has scissors right with him. 

"Oh wait, I have scissors right here!" Zuko clambers to get them.

"Saviour. My darling, my love, my life," Sokka clutches at his chest dramatically. "Saved me from having to dive into the hoard of the dragon!" 

Zuko snorts and gets up, stretching his legs. He doesn't even remember what he was doing there, so he might as well go help Sokka with their bed.

Together, they start climbing, to get started on the bed. 

Their bed. Theirs. Because they live together now. It still sends shivers down his spine when he thinks about it. He still remembers the first time the younger boy had brought it up, just shy of half a year ago. He had said yes immediately. Living with Sokka was a dream, and they were going to pursue it. A lot of work went into it, from being secure in the decision themselves before they went to tell both Uncle and Aang and Katara, who would need another flatmate to fill in for Sokka. 

That turned out to be Toph, who had finally broken free from her parents' hold to go visit university too, so she needed housing. But since she would only start in the next semester, they then had a set date in the future to plan for. Since neither Sokka nor Zuko wanted Aang and Katara to struggle with paying rent, and paying double the rent was also not the right choice, so they resolved to find a flat for the start of the semester. 

Now they live together. Their flat is relatively small, one bedroom that fits only their closets and their bed, a second bedroom that doubles as both the guest room and their office, and two bathrooms, adjacent to the bedrooms. An open kitchen and living room combination.

It's not much, but it's theirs. 

The kitchen is already built-in, and so are the bathrooms, but both of the other rooms are unfurnished, so they had to bring in more furniture. They could use a lot of the stuff that they already had, but they both decided they'd need a larger bed. 

It's a special make, because Zuko refuses to have his feet dangle in cold air while his boyfriend just lies there in peace. It's not that he's that much taller than Sokka, it's just. A little bit. So the bed is longer than a regular bed would be, but not by much. Just enough for him to stretch out his arms and his legs the furthest that he can and not have anything dangling over the edges.

The bed could probably fit the entire ‘Gaang’ if they wanted to, so it takes them a long while to get it finished. Also because Sokka randomly bursts into laughter to fend off any frustrations, and it works. And Zuko can't help but kiss him anytime it happens. 

But then, the bed stands. It's a beautiful, sturdy frame, made out of dark stained wood. Sokka is the one to open the package including their mattress, a vacuum-sealed bag. It opens like a sponge sucking in air. 

Because it essentially is a sponge, sucking in air.

Heh.

The mattress is supposed to rest in a room for five hours to inflate completely, and neither of them is hungry yet, so they leave to carry over all of the kitchen stuff. It doesn't even take long to sort everything, since it's just the bare necessities. Zuko's favourite mug and plates, Sokka's that are matching in style, some pots and pans, cutlery, cooking utensils, some other odds and ends. 

And then it's just them, sitting on their kitchen chairs, taking a minute just to breathe. The two most important things are set up for now. Bed and kitchen. It's not even funny how deeply they had planned the entire process, but both of them need it. Zuko, so he doesn't freak out, and Sokka, because otherwise, he'd just do random stuff he would come across, like cleaning the radiators or the windows rather than actually doing things they need to finish. 

So of course, everything is planned. 

And even if they both need relaxation, they can still take steps to do things that are productive while their muscles recuperate. 

And one of those steps is making the rules.

It was one of the non-negotiable points Zuko had brought up. He had asked to divide up the chores for his need to have everything at least semi-clean and orderly, given that they both needed different things to hold relative order. 

Zuko in need of structure and Sokka needing to keep on top of things due to his lack of object permanence. Which meant that he did do his chores, and when he did them, he went hard, but more often than not, he forgot to do things. 

So, to avoid conflict and drama for both of them, Zuko had decided that they should make a plan on how to do things. Nothing set into stone of course , but at least something, so that they both had their needs down. 

And Sokka had, of course, acquiesced and had made a rudimentary spreadsheet for them to organise the chores. Because Sokka really couldn't live without a spreadsheet.

Zuko watches as Sokka settles into one of their kitchen chairs, his laptop in front of him, spreadsheet open.

"Are we really gonna do this?" 

"Yep!" Sokka says and dramatically pauses. "You've asked to divide up chores, so we're gonna go all in. I wanna support you as much as I can, but I need a spreadsheet." 

Zuko grins at his boyfriend's antics. But the mere fact that there's a spreadsheet just tells him how serious Sokka is about this. Sokka's spreadsheets are holy to him. 

He settles down right next to his boyfriend after kissing his forehead. 

"Okay, so. Chores." Sokka huffs out. "We need to do them." 

"Yup." 

"I think we should start with your sensory issues, so we can. You know. Make the entire thing the least painful for you?" 

It is probably a good point to start. The number of times Zuko had a meltdown over chores was unreal. 

"Hmm okay," he muses for a while, trying to order his thoughts while reading through Sokka's list and trying to come up with things that could and would bother him. Vaccumingis right on top, so he should probably just go through the list and think about each one. 

"So. You know, noise is a bad one for me?" Zuko starts, "So anything that's loud. Water also sucks but like, if I can wear gloves or something if that's possible. So like, washing up dishes only with gloves? But I also can't deal with squeaky noises. And specific smells are also bad. I really dislike the smell of that cleaning stuff Uncle used-" 

"We can have a smelling session?" Sokka butts in, as he manically types everything Zuko says next to the specific chores they could affect. 

Zuko is fascinated and pauses at his boyfriend's interjection. "Huh?"

"A smelling session. For good cleaning agents that don't smell too much? Like, there have to be some that don't really smell that intense but also like. Still clean well?" 

"Okay. Yeah, that sounds good." 

"Oh, also, I'm sorry for interrupting, I just had to get the thought out? I'm sorry. Go on." Sokka gestures.

"It's okay." Zuko smiles. "Yeah, I can't really think of anything else right now, so. Essentially, no go tasks for me are probably vacuuming, because it's too loud, and cleaning the windows because of smell and squeaky noises? I would prefer not to like, do the dishes because of the water-" 

"That's fine, I really do like doing them, but it's the remembering for me." Sokka butts in.

"Okay. We can figure that out later?" 

"Uh-huh. So what tasks are you hyped about?" 

"Ah. Uhm." Zuko says.

Sokka snorts in sympathy.

"I like doing the laundry? And bedsheets. And sorting the laundry in the closet? And also like. Keeping everything tidy."

That sends an immediate smile down his boyfriend's face, a look of relief. 

"Thank the spirits. I hate doing laundry. And you know I'm really bad at letting things lie around when I'm in a rut." 

"I know, Sokka. That's why we decide to like, divide them upright?" 

"Right." 

Sokka focuses back on his spreadsheet, where he has so far noted down Zuko next to the laundry and changing bed sheets as well as general tidying. 

"So what about you? Tasks you're hyped about, Tasks you hate?" Zuko asks evenly. 

His boyfriend groans in response.

"I guess I. I suppose if I'm in hyperfocus cleaning mode which does happen sometimes, I am generally fine with any task? But it's like- it doesn't happen too often. And usually, if I get reminded I feel like the worst human ever? Because you didn't sign up for that. For me to flake out on everything. And if I wanted to do it, and you remind me anyways, I won't do it because my brain says 'no can do'." Sokka looks positively downtrodden, and Zuko can't have that. 

"I know, baby. But it's like, okay, we can set up routines together? Like, it's not like we have to do everything every day. So like, the big cleaning stuff we can like. Do once every week? So how about we set up a day where we do like. Laundry, vacuuming, mopping, and cleaning the bathrooms? That way shit gets done regularly enough." 

Sokka sighs, and puts his attention back to the spreadsheet, starting to drag things around. Zuko drops his head on his shoulder, watching as he starts dragging and dropping items into categories, loosely sorting by how often the tasks need to be done and in which room they are. After a while, everything looks incredibly colourful and complicated, until Sokka pulls about three-quarters of the list into a separate one he labels "weekly", and they're left with just a couple of tasks that are clearly daily ones. 

"So."

"So?" Zuko asks.

"So, look. How about we worry about those other tasks that are weekly later, and we just decide on those daily ones?" 

"Deal." 

"So. We got dishes. Three times a day because ideally, we should eat three times a day. I know sometimes that won't happen but like. Yeah. Dishes." 

Zuko nods importantly, waiting for him to go on.

"Rightly in tune with that we have food. Because like, making food is really difficult for me. Like, having to choose it and like, executive dysfunction and stuff? So that is sure as hell something I'd like to optimise somehow. And also optimise having fewer dishes? To deal with later on." 

"We have already reduced the number of dishes we have, right? So that should already help. With each of us having two of everything, and then we have the cupboard of 'Never open unless guests are here', right?" 

Sokka nods. That is a strategy they've already decided on before they moved, because bringing together two households also comes with the issue of double the stuff. 

"Okay, so what else. General hygiene stuff should be up to ourselves, right?" 

"Right." Zuko agrees.

"Okay." 

"Okay." 

They still, for a while. Then-

"So like, how do we do this now? I feel like we kinda- I don't know. We already made the dishes task easier by having fewer things to clean up in general? But we also always eat together." 

"Yeah. I think we should just try to each do our own thing, and if we eat together, I dry the dishes, and you do the washing?" 

"Deal." 

They seal it with a kiss. 

"I'm doing the rubbish," Zuko states, keeping right in front of Sokka's face, establishing eye contact. It's a bit ridiculous, and they both have to grin. 

"Fine by me." 

"So what about food?" 

"That's a problem. If you let me in charge of groceries, I will go nearly every day and impulse buy a shitton of stuff. You know me, Duckie. Please don't make me choose. I can cook. I can do the thing. But like, I can't choose?" 

Zuko grins at the helplessness of his boyfriend. Sokka sure as hell can't choose food. But he also really likes varying his foods, which Zuko sure as hell doesn't. He has his safe foods, and then maybe sometimes he can go for something else, but he is really picky. Sokka is similar, but he does sometimes get the weirdest thoughts and cravings.

"Okay. Tell you what, I tell you my safe foods and you tell me yours, and then we compile and always have those on hand?"

"Good idea, duckie." 

Sokka starts another document, loosely labelled "Safe foods" and starts adding stuff. Before long, they have a quite big list. 

"Okay, so, that's the list of stuff that always has to be there. And I guess for lunch we can like. Rotate meals? And we have to at least try to be healthy, Sokka." 

"Right. Right. So I am in charge of groceries. I can do that. And I should do that soon, since, you know. We don't have much stuff right now. And, I don't know about you, but I kinda need sustenance." 

Sokka's right. They have some bare minimum stuff, like noodles and some buns from the Jasmine Dragon, and of course, tea. A lot of tea. None of which sounds particularly good to Zuko right now.

And of course, Sokka is hungry. 

"I don't really, can we." 

"Hm?" 

"Take out?" Zuko asks. Because he honestly cannot deal with the fact of having to go grocery shopping when everything else feels so not done. 

"Sure thing, Duckie."

They get a large spread from a fusion restaurant that's just around the corner and settle in to eat. The kitchen has a huge window, and since they're pretty high up, they can see far into the city. The middle ring is bustling with friendly noises, nothing too loud, but also not too quiet. It's just the right amount of noise.

And Sokka is right there with him. 

It makes him think about how real it all is, that they're moving together - living together. That this is theirs, and only theirs-

And he's happy. 

Genuinely happy, because if he thinks back- 

Thirteen-year-old Zuko would have never dreamed of it. And yet, he's there.

Not yet wholly arrived or unpacked, and Druk is still staying with Uncle until they've properly set up everything, so they don't accidentally crush him, but the beginnings of a new chapter are there, just within reach.

"I love you, Sokka." It bursts out- interrupting his boyfriend's story.

And the younger boy just grins at him boyishly in response and leans in for a kiss- and yeah.

Zuko wouldn't mind if they stayed like this forever.

Yeah. Forever sounds good.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Leave a like, comment and subscribe! (This ain't youtube I know but alas. Tis worth a try?) 
> 
> (No really, comments fuel my lifeblood)


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